It’s too easy to equate character strength with physical power. So what is strength? What does it mean to be truly tough? Is suffering what makes you strong? Is continuing to persist, to exist on your terms in the face of overwhelming opposition or little hope of change—is that strength? (Recently, reading K.X. Song’s novel An Echo In the City about the 2019 Hong Kong protests I was impressed with the characters’ repeated acknowledgment that they knew they couldn’t win and yet that was no reason to stop fighting). Is strength merely preserving some core kernel of your true self deep down when all the world tells you that what you are, what you believe, what you feel is not right, not okay, not even real? Does that internal personal act of truth and private rebellion equate with strength? Is real strength the ability to ask for what you want and keep asking? Is it the ability to make hard choices in the face of disappointment or compromise?
― Alisa Alering, Interview, We Are Grimoire
What booksellers are saying about Smothermoss
- Alering thrills and excites with Smothermoss, the story of two sisters navigating adolescence and dark forces in the Appalachian mountains. Sprinkled with magic and charm, this lush adventure through the wilderness had me ensnared from the very first page..
― Alea Lopes, Oxford Exchange in Tampa, Florida | BUY
- A hauntingly eerie tale about two sisters, Shelia and Angie, set in the 1980s Appalachia. When two hikers turn up brutally murdered, Shelia and Angie get roped into hunting the killer. The imagery in this novel was so raw and creepy. I haven’t looked at rabbits the same since finishing this book. Angie draws creepy tarot cards with images you would see in your worst nightmare. This is a weird novel but a fun one, trust me!
― Anna Anabseh, Underground Books in Carrollton, Georgia | BUY
- I loved almost everything about this book: the imagery, the writing, the characters, and the magical “reality”. I can’t wait to see what this author writes next!
― Alexandra Bender, Fonts Books in McLeann, Virginia | BUY
- A creeping mystery and a building sense of dread run through this story of self discovery. Smothermoss delivers absorbing imagery, troubling questions, and no easy answers, but but reminds the reader that life goes on regardless, and while there’s life, there’s hope.
― Arthur Acton, Fiction Addiction in Greenville, South Carolina | BUY
- A lyrically beautiful Southern Gothic story set in the Appalachian mountains, Smothermoss is an edge-of-your-seat yet gorgeous read. Two very different sisters exist in communion with the flora and fauna where the mountain plays a pivotal role. Both Sheila and Angie are trying to figure out their place in the world as kids in the 1980s. When a double murder in their small community put everyone on high alert, Angie is certain she can catch the killer. Smothermoss reads like a fairy tale with thrilling moments that could lead to devastation. Highly recommend.
― Rachel Watkins, Avid Bookshop in Athens, Georgia | BUY
About Alisa Alering
Alisa Alering grew up in the Appalachian Mountains of Pennsylvania and now lives in Arizona. After attending Clarion West, their short fiction has been published in Fireside, Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet, Podcastle, and Cast of Wonders, among others, and been recognized by the Calvino Prize. A former librarian and science/technology reporter, they teach fiction workshops at the Highlights Foundation.
